Fake Bands -
Troublemakers, Not Tribute-Payers

Would you pay as much to see fake bands or tribute bands perform oldies songs as you would to watch original members from the '50s to '70s?

Below are authentic Motowners from recent tours. One such tour is the current 2008-2009 Legendary Classic Motown Show with Jr. Walker's All-Stars Band:

As for the fakers...hmm, should I really help promote them when I wouldn't pay to be duped?

Actually, there's an important distinction to make. Tribute bands cover old favorites but don't claim to have direct ties to Hitsville. That's fine. That's honest. So are impersonators--they do their work with a wink and the audience is in on the fun.

Fake bands, however, advertise themselves as featuring original members without really having any. In effect, they're committing fraud. Sure, the hirees can sing, dance, and wear their costumes with gusto. Fans get their oldies kicks. Clubs get their profits. Promoters, managers, and agents get their fees. Everyone's happy.

Everyone except the actual Motown artists and fans getting ripped off.

This is a serious problem. More bookings for fake bands and more people ignoring the dishonesty means fewer opportunities for the originals to make decent wages in their twilight years.

These are not millionaires bemoaning how they can't become billionaires. Many Motown singers were gifted teens and 20somethings who earned little initial pay. Many naïvely signed away the rights to their group names--and future residuals.

Now, many music trends later, that salad-days money and public interest has petered out. It's once again a struggle for these artists to keep doing what they love.

Today's pretenders wouldn't be getting their gigs if it weren't for their predecessors. What a way to thank them!

John Steele manages some of those knockoffs. One is Jr. Walker's "All Stars" of Motor City Memories. Here is the real band with Motown-era pedigree.

Another copycat group under Steele is the Sounds of the Supremes, whose members never signed with Motown. Two (originally all three) of the Former Ladies of the Supremes, meanwhile, did.

Then there are Larry Marshak's suspiciously youthful Marvelettes. For a genuine original, look for the group Gladys Horton and Her Marvelettes.

The phony-bands practice extends beyond Motown. Over the years, Marshak has unleashed multiple versions of "the" Drifters, Coasters, and Platters on tour.

Fortunately, people have taken notice. This webpage, for instance, is about the true-blue Coasters and fake singing groups in general.

Even legislators are taking a stand against deceptive advertising through the Truth in Music Bill. May riled fans know who to really see and exploited artists win back their identities.

If you want more info, Robert Fontenot's article summarizes the overall problem and the legal remedies well. Elsewhere, Shawn Nagy offers a more personal perspective on the issue.

Any journalists or authors out there willing to document the who, what, where, and when of bogus oldies bands? If so, feel free to contact me. I can provide an additional resource.

It's easy to sigh on hindsight at the tragedy of legitimate, once-adored stars ending their days broke and ignored. Let's pay our own tributes to them now by not supporting the impostors.

To book the Legendary Classic Motown Show featuring Jr. Walker's All-Stars Band (note the tweaks to the original name) and the Ladeez (who have worked with the Former Ladies of the Supremes, Martha and the Vandellas, David Ruffin, the Miracles, and others), please call 231-629-1298.

Meanwhile, learn more on my site about the stars of the recent Legendary Classic Motor Town Revue Tour: Jean Terrell, the Contours with Sylvester Potts, Brenda Holloway, and Jr. Walker's All-Stars Band.

Had enough of fake bands? Ain't nothing like the real things on the homepage.

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